[NEohioPAL]Berko review: URINETOWN (Carousel)

[Roy Berko]

‘URINETOWN’ is okay, but not great at Carousel

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	

Last year, when Beck Center, produced URINETOWN, THE
MUSICAL! I stated, “Beck’s’ production is outstanding!
 The cast is excellent...not a weak link in the
chain.”   I’d love to say the same thing about the
Carousel Dinner Theatre production, but I can’t. 
That’s not to say the production was bad, it just
didn’t live up to my previous experiences with the
show.

The show is fun, in fact, a total delight, but it also
has a serious underbelly.  This is a tale of greed,
corruption, love and revolution in a city where water
is worth its weight in gold.  Messages pervade, such
as what happens when big business is given the right
to control our lives.  Think of the pharmaceutical and
medical companies and their stranglehold over our
health. What is it like to be lied to continually in
an attempt to push a political and economic agenda? 
Think of the amount of money being made by the oil and
military-industrial complex and influential public
officials.  Think of the rape of the environment
caused by loosening the clean air act.  The fantasy of
the situation described in ‘URINETOWN: THE MUSICAL’
has become near reality.

The first act of the Carousel show, as directed by
Jennifer Cody dragged.  The cleverness was missing. 
The cast seemed to be moon walking through their
roles, often not connecting with the audience.  The
second act, however, sparkled.  The pacing intensified
and a feeling of abandonment set in.  The transition
centered on Brian Loeffler’s excellently choreographed
act two opener, “What is Urinetown.”   This, “Cop
Song” and “Run, Freedom, Run” were the show’s
highlights.

Chris Murrah has a good singing voice and developed a
clear character as Bobby.  Karen Katz was a delightful
 scene stealer as Little Sally.   She and Murrah were
absolutely consistent in their high quality level.

Al Bundonis was not playful enough as Officer
Lockstock.  Much of the success of the production
centers on his characterization.  Unfortunately, he
never quite hit the right stride.  Patrick Carroll was
totally ineffective as Senator Flipp.   Robert
Stoeckle was not slimy enough as the bad guy, Caldwell
B. Cladwell.  Without the audience hating him, much of
the play’s core erodes.  Also adding to the problems
was the tinny sound of the overly keyboarded
orchestra.

Carousel deserves kudos for taking a severe bend in
their usual safe production road by producing this
controversially titled and subject-mattered script. 
Hopefully, they will continue to challenge their
audiences.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  ‘URINETOWN THE MUSICAL’ can be a
delightful and meaningful experience.  The Carousel
production comes close, but has too many weaknesses to
be a stellar production.

‘URINETOWN’ runs through November 4.  For tickets 
call 800-362-4100.  Show times are Tuesday through
Thursday evenings at 8:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday
evenings at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday evenings at 5 and
Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2 P.M.  Matinees
are on Wednesday and Saturday at 2.  Dinner is served
two hours prior to curtain.  Ticket prices range from
$41 to $49  for the show with dinner and 28.50-$36.50
for the show alone.


Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.

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